That is a call that changed a VERY meaningful game in favor of a very highly touted team verses an underdog. This was game one and again…DID NOT change the outcome. The best and simultaneously weak argument is “it changed momentum”. Really? LOL. Momentum had already shifted and the undisputable fact is momentum is a term used when trying to absolve players of owning momentum. Ever heard of execution? Ever heard of putting a game away by your own merits?
The truth is, Charger Fans, they look good. They are young in many areas but their run defense is solid. They came out VERY motivated and the Texans came out thinking they would be handed the game. I think if Rivers can handle himself in crunch time, you guys have a better team than most expect. Just make no mistake, this game was one because the Texans took it and the Chargers crumbled under the pressure. We know a thing or two about blowing leads (HISTORIC LEADS IN THE PLAYOFFS) and blowing a gift wrapped number 1 seed.

]]>By: rockybev35http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/09/10/nfl-says-penalty-on-chargers-for-hitting-texans-snapper-was-wrong/#comment-2787397
Thu, 12 Sep 2013 18:37:18 +0000http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=2209081#comment-2787397Question for Chargers fans:
Did the Chargers also not have the ability to stop the ensuing TD? I 100% agree the call, in retrospect, was a bad call. What’s crazy is the Texans still had a pick six and the game winning field goal AFTER this. This call was a bad call but did not determine the game. I have a problem with the NFL even admitting this was a bad call. It’s suspect. Unless the NFL is going to hold the bad calls for the refs accountable- this literally does nothing but create a subjective debate to a games’ outcome. No one knows if the Chargers would have gained more than the 10 yards they accumulated after their last score and no one knows if the Texans would have scored a TD on their final drive because of the alternate universe we are all now living in. There were bad calls made on both sides but the bottom line is the Chargers second half performance sucked and the Texans turned it up.
Anyone saying it was the game changer are the same ones talking so much sh&t about Phyllis Rivers being a joke of a QB when it matters. The ONLY legit argument is the Chargers STILL had the ability to win this game. The Texans did. If this happened on the final drive where 3 would not have won it and 7 did- I get it.
The rest is excuses. I still don’t get what the NFL is doing in admitting ref mistakes after the fact. Unless they impose infractions/penalties with said refs; just leads to these meaningless debates of alternative outcomes and takes away the reality that the responsibility lies solely with the players. Period.
]]>By: pemoryhttp://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/09/10/nfl-says-penalty-on-chargers-for-hitting-texans-snapper-was-wrong/#comment-2784209
Wed, 11 Sep 2013 19:57:45 +0000http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=2209081#comment-2784209Hmmm…this kind of “great” officiating will likely lead to, you know, being the crew that refs. the Super Bowl.
]]>By: dj701919http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/09/10/nfl-says-penalty-on-chargers-for-hitting-texans-snapper-was-wrong/#comment-2783693
Wed, 11 Sep 2013 17:11:16 +0000http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=2209081#comment-2783693I love the irrational response that you receive from fans when things like this happen.

The fact is that reversing that call would alter the course of that game and there is no way of determining the outcome.

As a Texan fan, I am not trying to suggest that we would have still won. As a matter of fact, it would probably have increased the Chargers chances of winning.

However, every team gets screwed by the refs eventually and every team benefits from a blown call eventually. At the end of the day, it all kind of works itself out.

]]>By: mogogo1http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/09/10/nfl-says-penalty-on-chargers-for-hitting-texans-snapper-was-wrong/#comment-2783495
Wed, 11 Sep 2013 16:04:28 +0000http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=2209081#comment-2783495Scary part is that wasn’t event he worst bit of officiating from that game: The Andre Johnson review was. Johnson went to hurdle a tackler and was obviously tripped up, he falls to the ground and is down but gets up and runs in for a TD. But rather than note he was obviously tripped and down already, the officials got fixated on whether he was touched a second time. They went through the entire review process obviously without ever watching the entire play because their ruling was he was downed by one of the other tacklers touching his foot when he was on the ground. If that totally irrelevant act hadn’t occurred, they’d have given him a touchdown.
]]>By: mogogo1http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/09/10/nfl-says-penalty-on-chargers-for-hitting-texans-snapper-was-wrong/#comment-2783392
Wed, 11 Sep 2013 15:24:42 +0000http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=2209081#comment-2783392The call itself was bad enough, but the officiating “expert” they brought in during the broadcast was laughably bad, essentially saying “If they called it, I support it.”
]]>By: htown1035http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/09/10/nfl-says-penalty-on-chargers-for-hitting-texans-snapper-was-wrong/#comment-2783366
Wed, 11 Sep 2013 15:16:03 +0000http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=2209081#comment-2783366Please – I understand the angst Chargers fans, but let’s not go crazy. It’s not like the call against Green Bay last year that was the difference between a win and a loss – there was plenty of time left in this game for anything to happen.

And quit with the whole “momentum” angle – even if the Chargers had forced that field goal they were still reeling at that point and if any team had “momentum” it was the Texans. It was the end of the third quarter, the Texans had just held the Chargers to 3 and out and were in the middle of a long drive after scoring on the previous drive. The Texans were methodically moving downfield up to that point and there was still another whole quarter to play.

]]>By: jwcarlsonhttp://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/09/10/nfl-says-penalty-on-chargers-for-hitting-texans-snapper-was-wrong/#comment-2783363
Wed, 11 Sep 2013 15:14:24 +0000http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=2209081#comment-2783363Time for mandatory replay on all penalties resulting in “offsetting” penalties, all penalties of over 10 yards (including personal fouls and PI), and all calls within the last two minutes of the half.

This would happen up top in the booth and shouldn’t really affect the game flow. About 90% of the time the scoring and turnover reviews are pretty seemless. Really getting old seeing the calls blown time after time.

And maybe it’s time for “we’re going to let them play” to be a valid excuse to reverse a game-changing PI in the endzone?

Something has got to change.

]]>By: bcgreghttp://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/09/10/nfl-says-penalty-on-chargers-for-hitting-texans-snapper-was-wrong/#comment-2783345
Wed, 11 Sep 2013 15:07:23 +0000http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=2209081#comment-2783345I like the rule to protect the long snapper, but this was NOT a penalty. Thomas went around the LS, barely touching him. Bad call.
]]>By: dashmoozhttp://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/09/10/nfl-says-penalty-on-chargers-for-hitting-texans-snapper-was-wrong/#comment-2783279
Wed, 11 Sep 2013 14:47:13 +0000http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=2209081#comment-2783279koufaxmitzvah

You hit the nail right on the head, my friend. Those people who pretend the game would have played out exactly the same had the call gone the other way are blind. The rest of the game depends on everything that happens before it.

Texans would have been down 28-17, but they completely shut SD down from then on, and it was still the 3rd qtr, with PLENTY of time left. SD got 10 yards and NO first downs after their early 3rd qtr score. Does anyone really think the Texans would have casually walked down the field, wound down the clock and kicked a FG when they were down by 4? No – they would have been balls to the wall to try to score TDs.

I say this as someone who had the Texans -4 and lost my $. One damn point.

]]>By: telldatruthhttp://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/09/10/nfl-says-penalty-on-chargers-for-hitting-texans-snapper-was-wrong/#comment-2783278
Wed, 11 Sep 2013 14:46:32 +0000http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=2209081#comment-2783278I thought the league (according to the refs cba) were going to discipline refs for making bad calls? Whoever through a flag on this and the refs who blew the call on Calvin Johnson’s TD should be suspended if the league is serious.
]]>By: buckyhammhttp://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/09/10/nfl-says-penalty-on-chargers-for-hitting-texans-snapper-was-wrong/#comment-2783198
Wed, 11 Sep 2013 14:05:54 +0000http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=2209081#comment-2783198Duh
]]>By: koufaxmitzvahhttp://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/09/10/nfl-says-penalty-on-chargers-for-hitting-texans-snapper-was-wrong/#comment-2783184
Wed, 11 Sep 2013 14:01:07 +0000http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=2209081#comment-2783184What part of “It’s a judgement call,” means “They really screwed up and let the wrong team win.”

And while we’re at it, the Texans let the clock wind down before winning with a field goal. Let’s not claim that the “extra 4 points” were otherwise unobtainable.

Finally, I’d like to introduce you to a quasi-baseball term we sometimes like to throw around: the Human Element. You can’t fight the Human Element; you can only work yourself a little bit harder to make up what may have been taken away from you somewhat unfairly.

In other words, Deal With It.

]]>By: jglionhttp://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/09/10/nfl-says-penalty-on-chargers-for-hitting-texans-snapper-was-wrong/#comment-2783182
Wed, 11 Sep 2013 14:00:30 +0000http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=2209081#comment-2783182only a matter of time before someone finds a way to blame Suh for this hit.
]]>By: Andre's Johnsonhttp://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/09/10/nfl-says-penalty-on-chargers-for-hitting-texans-snapper-was-wrong/#comment-2783109
Wed, 11 Sep 2013 13:30:45 +0000http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=2209081#comment-2783109It was a judgment call made during live action, much like, say, pass interference. The defensive player in question didn’t really make a play on the ball; he just jumped on top of the long snapper. In retrospect, a bad call? Probably. But the Texans were going up and down the field at will at this point. Hard to say it cost the Chargers the game. It made things easier for the Texans, sure, but the Chargers still let Houston score a bunch.

Consider also: in this game, two plays were reversed after replay in favor of the Chargers. I think both replays lacked authoritative evidence to reverse.

That’s how it goes.

]]>By: icanspeelhttp://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/09/10/nfl-says-penalty-on-chargers-for-hitting-texans-snapper-was-wrong/#comment-2783081
Wed, 11 Sep 2013 13:10:41 +0000http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=2209081#comment-2783081Even though there were some bad calls at least the league admits it and I am sure re-educates the refs for future games regarding it. Doesn’t help the teams now, but really no guarantee what would happen had the right call been made, we only see the results with the wrong call.
]]>By: squared80http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/09/10/nfl-says-penalty-on-chargers-for-hitting-texans-snapper-was-wrong/#comment-2783066
Wed, 11 Sep 2013 13:00:15 +0000http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=2209081#comment-2783066Blatantly wrong.

But in the 49ers game, the bad call was actually Staley getting flagged for ‘retaliation’ against Matthews… which would have made the extra down irrelevant. So Packers fans can stop whining about that like they always do.

]]>By: kevinb73http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/09/10/nfl-says-penalty-on-chargers-for-hitting-texans-snapper-was-wrong/#comment-2783065
Wed, 11 Sep 2013 12:59:48 +0000http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=2209081#comment-2783065This is the theme of week one in the NFL. Botched calls by officials all weekend. Referees, please let the players play and stop trying to get face-time on tv!
]]>By: ccjcsrhttp://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/09/10/nfl-says-penalty-on-chargers-for-hitting-texans-snapper-was-wrong/#comment-2783045
Wed, 11 Sep 2013 12:46:47 +0000http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=2209081#comment-2783045So the Texans should be 0-1?

#overrated

]]>By: lebrack27http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/09/10/nfl-says-penalty-on-chargers-for-hitting-texans-snapper-was-wrong/#comment-2783020
Wed, 11 Sep 2013 12:33:29 +0000http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=2209081#comment-2783020How is admitting it helping the Chargers?? Learn the rules and apply them correctly!!!
]]>By: followme2bostonhttp://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/09/10/nfl-says-penalty-on-chargers-for-hitting-texans-snapper-was-wrong/#comment-2783016
Wed, 11 Sep 2013 12:29:24 +0000http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=2209081#comment-2783016I do not think I would release this information to the public if I was running the NFL. Saying, “oops, our bad” with no ability to change anything about the outcome of the bad call is only rubbing salt in the wound of the team on the wrong end of this. It is a part of the game that refs blow calls and truth be told it seems to happen to the Chargers more than most. Telling them about it, when the world already knows it was a bad call does not do any good in my opinion and only makes the league look bad.
]]>By: dcapettinihttp://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/09/10/nfl-says-penalty-on-chargers-for-hitting-texans-snapper-was-wrong/#comment-2783004
Wed, 11 Sep 2013 12:19:49 +0000http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=2209081#comment-2783004So both the Texans’ and the 49ers’ victories hinged on improper actions by the officials. They have a ton of guys out there. How is it that they don’t know the rules? Maybe they should be full time employees. They could spend the extra time learning the rules. After all, they get pensions for a part time job. Most people don’t geta pension for their full time job.
]]>By: touchdownroddywhitehttp://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/09/10/nfl-says-penalty-on-chargers-for-hitting-texans-snapper-was-wrong/#comment-2782988
Wed, 11 Sep 2013 12:09:11 +0000http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=2209081#comment-2782988Good for the refs! Finally I benefited from a bad call since that was the deciding game in my pick-em league and netted me $40.
]]>By: milesrunner262http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/09/10/nfl-says-penalty-on-chargers-for-hitting-texans-snapper-was-wrong/#comment-2782966
Wed, 11 Sep 2013 11:40:40 +0000http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=2209081#comment-2782966Ugh…these replacement refs are terrible!! When do the real refs get back? Oh wait!
]]>By: easternboltfanhttp://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/09/10/nfl-says-penalty-on-chargers-for-hitting-texans-snapper-was-wrong/#comment-2782957
Wed, 11 Sep 2013 11:34:04 +0000http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=2209081#comment-2782957Would have been nice if they realized it was a bad call DURING THE GAME!!!
]]>By: roofdoc1http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/09/10/nfl-says-penalty-on-chargers-for-hitting-texans-snapper-was-wrong/#comment-2782956
Wed, 11 Sep 2013 11:31:32 +0000http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=2209081#comment-2782956another day another hit piece on the TEXANS, we get it NFL, you do not like us>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
]]>By: donmega72http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/09/10/nfl-says-penalty-on-chargers-for-hitting-texans-snapper-was-wrong/#comment-2782954
Wed, 11 Sep 2013 11:31:18 +0000http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=2209081#comment-2782954Feels like we’re dealing with the replacement refs all over again.
]]>By: rebdog31http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/09/10/nfl-says-penalty-on-chargers-for-hitting-texans-snapper-was-wrong/#comment-2782941
Wed, 11 Sep 2013 11:14:39 +0000http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=2209081#comment-2782941well isn’t that just fabulous? if you watched the game, this was a HUGE turning point in the score and momentum. you can never say for sure, but i believe this one call cost the Chargers the win.
]]>By: joetorontohttp://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/09/10/nfl-says-penalty-on-chargers-for-hitting-texans-snapper-was-wrong/#comment-2782885
Wed, 11 Sep 2013 08:40:27 +0000http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=2209081#comment-2782885It’s Ok, the Chargers deserved it.
]]>By: dallascowboysdishingtherealhttp://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/09/10/nfl-says-penalty-on-chargers-for-hitting-texans-snapper-was-wrong/#comment-2782871
Wed, 11 Sep 2013 07:37:34 +0000http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=2209081#comment-2782871Thomas accidently bumped the snapper with his knee. It was a huge missed call that impacted the out come of the game. This defenseless player nonsense has led officials down this path.
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